What I am giving pupils to read this long vacation

Every pupil goes into the holidays with a short list, chosen for them rather than for their reading age. Some of this year's, roughly by class:

Primary 2 and 3: Atinuke's Anna Hibiscus books, which are set here and are funny, and anything by Julia Donaldson for children still finding their feet.

Primary 4 and 5: Chike and the River by Chinua Achebe, Sugar Girl by Kola Onadipe, and Atinuke's The No. 1 Car Spotter.

Primary 6: The Passport of Mallam Ilia by Cyprian Ekwensi, and for the confident readers, Eze Goes to School, which will start an argument at home about whether school was better then.

The rule I give parents is that a book abandoned at page thirty is fine. Making a child finish a book they hate teaches them that reading is a punishment.